Rockets’ Austin Rivers fires back at critics who labeled him a bust

Rivers was the 10th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets, which turned into the New Orleans Pelicans. He averaged 6.9 points in 165 games with the franchise before getting traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Now on his fourth NBA team in the Rockets, Rivers has carved out a nice role for himself in the league:

“People labeled me [a bust]. Now they look stupid, eight years later,” Rivers told Salman Ali of SportsMap. “That’s what I was labeled as for sure. I didn’t come out and have that immediate impact like everybody thought I should have.”

Rivers has career NBA averages of 9.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 41.7 percent from the field, 34.7 percent from beyond the arc and 64.1 percent from the free throw line.

This season with the Rockets, Rivers is putting up 8.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 23.5 minutes per game. The Rockets are 37-20 on the season. They are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

Rivers’ best scoring season came during the 2017-18 campaign with the Clippers. He averaged 15.1 points per game during the regular season.

The Rockets host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Houston is looking for its fifth straight win.

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